Cost for Marine fields goes up $1 million

by John Tawa

The Manhattan Beach City Council Tuesday night unanimously approved the expenditure of $1 million from its capital reserves after learning that the cost to build the 6.3 acre Marine Avenue ballfields would exceed the $2.5 million estimate by $951,400.

"It is disappointing," said City Manager Geoff Dolan. "I thought at $2.5 million, we were highballing."

City staff said five principal causes pushed up the cost to construct the three little league baseball diamonds and soccer practice and play fields at the former TRW parking lot site on Marine Avenue between Redondo Avenue and Aviation Boulevard. They include the need to add expensive 20-foot high fencing along Marine to catch baseballs destined for the street; a subterranean drainage system due to the site's soil conditions; and building two structures on the site, including a two-story ADA-compliant building with scorekeeper's area, snack bar, restrooms and storage at a cost of $500,000. Staff also said that the bids received were higher than normal due to profit gouging from in-demand contractors.

The things that were surprising that added cost were the fencing and drainage, said Public Works Director Neil Miller. "These were things not anticipated in the original estimate."

Some residents were not persuaded.

"I am troubled by a budgeting process that puts forth an estimate that during the process gets bumped up by nearly 40 percent," said Gerry O'Connor. "Perhaps the initial process was inadequate. We should be intelligent enough going in so that we have a fairly rough idea of what it's going to cost. I think 40 percent is too great a margin."

While councilmembers agreed with O'Connor, they were faced with a dilemma. They could reduce the scope of the project, by eliminating a field or some amenity; they could delay the project's anticipated Jan. 1 2001 opening by sending it back out to bid; or they could bite the bullet and pay the extra money.

They bit.

The extra cost will be absorbed by the $1 million reserve set aside in this year's budget towards the city's eventual repurchase of the property from the Beach Cities Health District.

In other news, the council voted unanimously to uphold its policy against allowing the sale of alcohol on city-owned walkstreets.

The issue arose in connection with the application of Manhattan Avenue wine store "Bacchus-Wine Made Simple," which sought a Type 42 beer and wine license to sell wine by the glass both inside its store and on its adjacent 10th Street walkstreet patio. In May, the Planning Commission had approved wine tasting and sale of wine by the glass in a 120-foot interior space, but denied Bacchus the right to serve wine on the patio. This led to appeals by both Bacchus and walkstreet residents.

Despite a lengthy public hearing in which 27 people spoke (13 in favor, 14 opposed), there was never any doubt that the council would deny alcohol service on the walkstreet, even though many councilmembers felt that the use Bacchus proposed would not detrimentally affect the surrounding residents.

"As delightful as I think it would be, this council has been very consistent with not allowing alcohol consumption on the public right of way," explained councilmember Linda Wilson.

The closer call was service of wine by the glass indoors. Wilson and Mayor Tim Lilligren favored allowing it, reasoning that the 10 p.m. closing time and small service area would prevent it from becoming the rowdy bar everybody feared. Three councilmembers saw it differently, however.

"If the request was for wine tasting, I'd support it," councilmember Joyce Fahey explained. "But we're being asked to open a bar. While we want to attract people to our downtown and the existing businesses, I don't think we want to do so using alcohol as a draw." ER